Portland Timbers get first result on road, but play to disheartening draw against Houston Dynamo 1 all

View full sizeTimbers forward Gaston Fernandez took over the team scoring lead with his third goal in the 33rd minute against Houston as he pounced on a loose ball to redirect it into goal. The Timbers were behind by a goal courtesy of Will Bruin, but Portland was able to hold onto the draw for their first point on the road for 2014. While the point is encouraging, the lackluster play at times is slightly concerning.Jennifer Kesgard, community blogger

Timbers Coach Caleb Porter
had been pondering change in the lineup that produced some better
movement and more fluid defense but still lost to Real Salt Lake 1 to 0, but after a full week of training, he
made just one modification to the starting eleven used there. In front of the usual starter in goal,
Donovan Ricketts, Porter kept his defensive foursome the same – Michael Harrington
at left back, Pa Modou Kah and Futty Danso at the center backs, and Jack
Jewsbury manning the right back. In the
midfield, Porter chose to employ a slightly different formation with five
midfielders on defense and two moving forward to aid the single forward – Will
Johnson and Diego Chara at defensive midfielder, with Diego Valeri, Darlington
Nagbe and Kalif Alhassan alternating on the attack to support Gaston Fernandez
at forward. Fernandez came in as a substitute
for Maximiliano Urruti during the RSL match and had some great moments
offensively, so Porter decided to give him the start. Urruti would be one of the available subs,
along with Andrew Weber, Steve Zakuani, Alvas Powell, Ben Zemanski, Michael Nanchoff
and Norberto Paparatto.

Houston was excited about
the prospects that midfielder Brad Davis was returning to the lineup after
missing three matches with a severe ankle sprain, but the Dynamo were without
midfielder Ricardo Clark (concussion), midfielder Tony Cascio (knee) and
forward Omar Cummings (hamstring injury) so Houston Coach Dominic Kinnear
decided to mix things up. A 4 to 0 loss to New York back on April
23 on the road just days
after playing a physically demanding draw in
Philadelphia to the Union
also affected Kinnear's plans to play overly aggressive, but having one of the
best playmakers in MLS back and available certainly gave Kinnear a viable
engine in the middle. Houston started
out the 2014 season like gangbusters with two big wins, but since that point,
they had earned just the one point from the Union draw in their subsequent five
matches. While some of the issues have circled about injuries, a common theme
for the Dynamo over the year, they've also suffered through some lackluster
play at times, something that the Timbers have been guilty of at points during
2014 as well.

View full sizeDarlington Nagbe was involved in a great offensive run to chase down a pass while using some physicality with Dynamo defensive back Corey Ashe to take the ball. Unfortunately, Nagbe had to leave the match after using his shoulder to bump Ashe away. Hopefully, this isn't a long term knock that will keep him from subsequent matches.Doug Beghtel/The Oregonian/2013

First Half Thoughts: The weather produced
a gorgeous spring day for the match that lacked the normally stifling humidity that
often accompanies nice days in Texas, but with the match scheduled for midafternoon
kickoff, I had to wonder if there might be affects later on both sides. The Timbers looked pretty solid early with
some deft passing, and Chara got a quality look in the 2nd minute
but his deflected shot fell right to Dynamo keeper Tally Hall. Houston was able to create some noise of
their own in the 7th minute off a sequence of passes that eventually
led to a shot from Houston defender Corey Ashe that went flying over the cross
bar. While the early movement and
possession was favoring Portland, most of the pressure was centered on the
Timbers' own half of the pitch as Houston made a tactical decision to pack the
middle and attack only when the ball crossed the center line. Fortunes changed
in the 16th minute when Ashe was able to break down the left flank
with Nagbe giving chase.

Jewsbury had slid over to
potentially offer some resistance. Ashe put a pinpoint pass into the far corner
with Davis running unmarked to the spot as the Timbers scrambled to get
organized defensively. Before Jewsbury could provide coverage, Davis put a
speculative cross towards the penalty spot towards Barnes and Bruin as Danso
and Kah slid back to cover. While Kah
was trying to locate the ball, Danso focused upon Barnes and Bruin was able to
slide into a small open spot to head the cross into goal to put the home side
up 1 to 0. The Dynamo hadn't scored a
goal in 319 minutes, and they were pleased to have the early lead and continued
to pressure with Sarkodie and Barnes over the following minutes, but the
Timbers were able to stop each threat.
Sarkodie's effort was courtesy of Davis testing Ricketts from long
range, but the Timbers keeper came up with the deflection that Sarkodie nearly
captured. The Timbers had one chance of note with a Johnson redirect in the 22nd
minute, but they finally found their steps in the 33rd minute off a
rather innocuous play that produced goal.

As Alhassan held the ball
in the middle, he relieved pressure with a pass to a charging Jewsbury who fed
the ball back to Kalif as he turned to survey the pitch. Kalif tried to put a pass towards the spot
for Nagbe, but the Timbers midfielder had moved past the space dragging two Houston
defenders with him. However, Fernandez was
trailing the play and got to the ball first, and launched a missile just inside
the upper right corner that Hall had no chance to stop to level the match at 1
all. The Dynamo did have two defenders
at the spot, but neither could stop the shot and the excited home crowd fell
silent at this news, especially since the Timbers had only meagerly threatened
the goal to this point. Davis got
another chance at goal with a 36th minute free kick, but Ricketts
was able to punch clear while Valeri tested Hall as he was the recipient of a
great passing interplay between Chara and Fernandez, but his shot was saved. Portland was getting frustrated at some of the
Houston tactics in the air, especially after Danso took a shot to the head in
first half stoppage but the score line didn't change as the whistle blew for
the break.

View full sizePa Modou Kah was celebrating this goal with Frederic Piquionne back in 2013 during a Timbers home match, but there wasn't much happiness as the Timbers struggled defensively in key stretches which allowed Houston to dominate created chances. While it would be easy to assign blame to the center backs, it appeared there were issues in communication between the center backs, wings and defensive midfielders all afternoon. Rick Curwen, community blogger

Second Half Thoughts: Neither side made a chance at the break, but it did appear
Houston returned with more spring in their step. Garcia put a lovely cross into the box in the
47th minute from the right flank that Barnes headed just wide of the
post to scare the Portland defense, while Davis nearly hooked up with Driver on
a 55th minute corner kick that several Dynamo players helped get to
their midfielder with deft passing, but Danso was able to clear the ball
somewhat. Houston continued to pressure,
even getting Barnes clear 1 v 1 with Danso the only defender back. As they moved down the right flank, Barnes
cut the ball back towards goal with Bruin in full chase mode, but Ricketts was
able to collect the ball before the Dynamo forward could put a shot on frame.

A strange event occurred in
the 66th minute that produced a rarity in soccer – an indirect free
kick inside the box. With passing about
along the backline, Kah dropped a pass back for Ricketts under pressure and in
the ensuing mayhem and a Dynamo player giving chase, the ball struck Ricketts'
glove while he was in the box. Soccer
rules prevent a goalkeeper from handling a back pass from their defender, even
if the contact in this case was completely inadvertent due to the odd bounces,
but the end result was an indirect free kick for Houston just inside the
box. Davis tries his best to find a
teammate on the restart, but his pass to Barnes wasn't able to be converted to
a shot. Bruin had two more chances at
goal from set pieces in the ensuing minutes, but he misfired on both attempts
and vented some frustration.

Urruti entered the match
for Valeri in the 70th minute while Nanchoff replaced Alhassan to
see if the Timbers offense could do anything, as they'd been restricted to a
few chances to Valeri that skittered wide or high of goal. Nagbe nearly generated a chance off a
Fernandez pass in the 81st but it went for naught, and the Timbers
midfielder had to leave the match minutes later after he was nearly put clear
on goal with a pass, but Ashe was able to thwart his progress. While Darlington shouldered Ashe away to keep
the ball and turned to pass to find a teammate, he slumped to the turf after
the pass and eventually was replaced by Steve Zakuani. Zakuani forced Hall into a wonderful save in
the 88th minute, but it was a former Timbers U-23 player that nearly
stole the game for the home side. After replacing
Bruin in the 89th minute, forward Mark Sherrod was the recipient of
a Driver pass after several passes in open space, but Sherrod couldn't turn on the
ball as Kah was slow to react. After
five minutes of stoppage time, the Timbers and Dynamo played to a sluggish draw
that left both sides in search for goals and confidence.

View full sizeCoach Caleb Porter is now facing more questions about the Portland Timbers, as it's been eight matches over two months and the team still has yet to secure their first victory. The Timbers have had competitive stretches of play and positive trends to build upon, but the team will need to use the upcoming stretch of home matches to regain their confidence. Jennifer Kesgard, community blogger

Final Thoughts:
Plenty could be made of the statistical advantages Portland was able to employ
in terms of passing and possession, especially since the Timbers had dramatic
advantages in these areas. One of the
mantras in the Caleb Porter era has been possession with purpose, and this
match simply proved that while the Timbers held the ball for long periods of
time, they lacked the creativity or focus needed to put forth more than a few
idle threats on goal. Fernandez's goal
was simply being in the right place at the right time, but it was also the
product of an errant pass. I know the
team is trying to break the funk, and I'm still encouraged by some aspects of
their play, but at the same point, they simply need to be more aggressive and
do more with the chances. The Timbers
will get a chance for consecutive home matches – May 3 vs. D.C. United, May 11
vs. Los Angeles, May 17 vs. Columbus – to see if they can pull themselves out
of the funk.